a+u 24:06, 645

a+u’s June features the past 2 decades of mass timber construction in Canada. Mass timber refers to construction that uses large-volume wood laminated timber, such as GLT (glue-laminated timber) and CLT (cross-laminated timber), materials that are relevant in issues facing contemporary building methods, such as the use of local timber, recycling of resources, and the reduction of carbon footprints. These pages showcase 19 projects by 6 architectural firms that illustrate the evolution and potential of mass timber in Canada. At the start of the 21st century, Canada adopted a Constructive Environmentalism approach for sustainable forest management, timber use, and climate change mitigation, and, over the past 2 decades, Canadian architects have demonstrated their ingenuity in service of environmental protection and sustainability. CLT has fundamentally changed design and construction practices, leading to a prefabricated kit-of-parts approach. Furthermore, careful use of timber resources is also deeply intertwined with Indigenous cultures and land rights. These multidisciplinary insights, including ecological, sociological, and advanced technologies, play an important role in reshaping the relationship between the built environment and the natural world – and the role of humans in ecosystems. (a+u)